Out of the Loop
by Sierra's Darkness
Summary: Four instances where Jounouchi refuses to associate with the name 'Kaiba.' ShizukaMokuba.


**Author's note: **Uh, this is... different. I don't even really ship ShizukaMokuba, but here you have it. XD; It's more gen and Jounouchi vs. Kaiba than anything, but... enjoy? Comments and critique are welcomed, as always. :D

**1.**

It's no secret Jounouchi and Kaiba can't stand each other. To be more specific, it's no secret that Jounouchi wastes much of his time disliking and insulting Kaiba, and Kaiba doesn't have enough time to invest in hating the way Jounouchi does.

Shizuka and Mokuba are no _longer_ a secret when Jounouchi finds her phone on the counter one night and shamelessly rifles through her text messages. There are too many marked 'Mokuba' and signed with 'x' or 'o' or worse, both. The first thing he does is interrupt Shizuka's shower and the second is interrogate her as she sits on the couch, cold and shivering in her towel.

"The hell is this?" he demands, waving the cell at her. "You're canoodlin' with Kaiba's _brother_?"

"Mokuba," Shizuka says, pretending not to notice the glare she gets for using a Kaiba's first name in their apartment. "If you mean dating, then yes, that's what I'm doing...?"

"But _Kaiba's brother_," Jounouchi says again, dumbstruck.

Shizuka gives a helpless shrug. "I would have told you, but--"

"--But what?" Jounouchi asks incredulously. "Why'd you hide something like this from me? Man, I'm your brother. You can tell me anyth--"

"--Anything except something to do with the Kaibas," Shizuka finishes, smiling faintly. "This conversation is the reason I kept it from you, Nii-san."

"What reaction?! You're datin' the brother of my mortal enemy!"

"Kaiba-san doesn't consider you an enemy," Shizuka reminds him.

Jounouchi stares at Shizuka and rubs a hand over his face. "Go get dressed. Man, Kaiba's _brother_..."

Shizuka hurries to her room before Jounouchi can change his mind and lecture her about 'why we don't pity the Kaibas, even the dead ones.'

--

"Can you believe that? Two months before she graduates, an' she drops this bombshell on me..."

Honda stirs his drink with a thoughtful 'hm' as Anzu points out, "You brought this on yourself, Jounouchi. You went through her phone. That sort of stuff is personal to a girl, especially in relation to dating..."

"I don't believe this," Jounouchi says. "Did anyone _hear_ what I said? My baby sister is dating Kaiba's _brother_!"

"Third time you've said it, bro." Honda exchanges a glance with Anzu and she rolls her eyes. It stings a bit for him, of course -- first crushes always stick -- but he's moved on to greener pastures. "She's growing up. You have to let her get her feet wet sometime." Jounouchi looks like he's about to rant again and he quickly adds, "Even if it is with Mokuba. The kid's not his brother, anyway."

"Might as well be, the way he's reacting," Anzu says under her breath.

"And then she claimed I had a reaction, just like _that_!"

Anzu sighs heavily and Honda stifles his, if only to avoid getting punched.

--

**2.**

"No," Jounouchi says stiffly. "No way in hell."

Shizuka holds up the matching tie and shirt, frowning slightly. "I'm your only sister and I'm graduating from high school. You don't have to talk to him, Nii-san, you'll just be--"

"Sittin' in the same row, breathin' the same air! While you're up on stage makin' googly eyes at the kid! S'if that's not bad enough, y'want us to take the _limo _with him, too?!"

Shizuka's frown deepens. "I'll call Mai if I have to, Nii-san. She has those pictures of you..."

Jounouchi pales and snatches the clothes off his sister. "Tell Kaiba to pick us up early enough that I can get drunk before the ceremony starts."

--

Jounouchi insists on hanging around for the seniors' afterparty, meeting no protest from Shizuka or Mokuba. By the time the dancing begins, he's having waves of nausea in the bathroom and begging Anzu to come and talk sense into Shizuka.

"Could be worse," Anzu muses through the phone, hearing him dry-heave. "She could be dating Kaiba_."_

_--_

**3.  
**

"Wait a minute, _college_? Like _America_?" Jounouchi sits heavily on the couch, stunned by the news.

"That's generally where colleges are," Kaiba says from the other side of the room.

"Shut up! Goddamnit, I'm gonna--"

Shizuka looks at her brother pleadingly. "Yes, America, Nii-san. The best medical courses I can take are there, and if I get the scholarship I applied for, I'd really like to go."

"No," Jounouchi objects, momentarily forgetting Kaiba. "You're not runnin' off to college with Kaiba's brother--"

"Mokuba."

"--and who knows when you'll even come _back_, and the crime rates there are higher than Kaiba's freakin' blood pressure, and predators everywhere--"

Mokuba slings an arm around Shizuka's shoulders, smiling boyishly at Jounouchi. "No offense, Jounouchi, but we're planning to go there and scope out some of the colleges before the school year starts."

"Ha! Good luck getting permission from our mother while she's underage," Jounouchi smirks.

"Actually," Kaiba interjects, "she was more than enthused by the idea. Something about her being sheltered from living with you."

Jounouchi snarls and Mokuba has to restrain him as his brother smirks and continues to type. "You--! Ugh, you wait! I'll call Yuugi or the police or something, and-- "

"We leave tonight to beat the crowds," Kaiba says impassively and Jounouchi stops struggling.

--

**4.**

Jounouchi doesn't think he'll ever get used to video-chats on the internet with his sister, but at least this way he can keep an eye on Mokuba. They beat phone-calls, too, since they're free and he hasn't been paid in weeks.

"My period's running late, Nii-san," Shizuka says three days after she turns nineteen. "I really have to go and get to cla-- Nii-san?" She starts as Jounouchi's eyes roll back into his head and he falls sideways, out of the box onscreen and presumably off his chair. "Nii-san?"

Behind her, Mokuba looks up from a paper he's writing. "What's up?"

"I don't know," Shizuka responds, confused. She closes the window and shuts down her laptop, before smiling at him. "I really do have to run, though. Third period classes always run a little late, but not enough for me to get some coffee."


End file.
